2011Environmental and Energy Outlook.

The LEED'r http://mim.io/33248

The LEED'r 12.10.10

Greenwashing. The LEED'r http://mim.io/879c7 Daryl Dworkin

The LEED'r Issue 6

The LEED'r Cancun or Kyoto Revisited?, Green Gift Guide!: http://mim.io/0b4b7

The LEED'r Issue 5

National Toilet Day! http://mim.io/a4957

Have you Benchmarked Yet?

Have you Benchmarked yet?

Why??? WHY NOT???

The LEED'r Issue 3

What is Cogeneration???

Check out this week's issue of the LEED'r and let us know what you think!

http://mim.io/9d1b6

Solar Shoots and Scores!

This weekend I was at an ice hockey complex in New Jersey that obtains 28% of its power from solar panels strategically placed in the parking lot of the complex. Whenever the facility is not using the power it generates from its solar panels, it sells it off at a discounted rate to the local town. Check it out here: Mennen Ice Complex.

Question: How long will it take long Island to catch on, (up)?

I say it happens soon, what are your thoughts?

The LEED'r Issue 2

Global Warming; Remember? Check out The LEED'r: http://mim.io/07486

The LEED'r

Hi and welcome to the LEED'r !

by Daryl Dworkin Whether you are just getting "into" the green movement or you have been for sometime then you will enjoy the LEED'r. LEED* is an acronym which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED* is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. As the LEED* designation suggests excellence in green building and design, so does the LEED'rrepresent excellence in reporting, educating, and following the environmental arena. A worldwide paradigm shift is occurring regarding the way people are perceiving the impact of the environment upon their everyday life. A global change in laws, policies, and ideals are causing a phenomenon to occur. More and more people are realizing that the green revolution -is not just a passing fad - but is here to stay. Green building alone has increased four-fold over the last few years. The Leed'r will be bringing you compelling stories and cutting edge news in and around the green community...stay tuned...

Mountaintop Coal Removal and The Terminator Speaks...

If mountain-top removal coal mining is so bad for our environment and it is only a small percentage of the total amount of coal mined; why not outlaw it?

On Our Radar: Schwarzenegger Slams Climate Law Repeal...
Check out this commentary and tell me what you think: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/on-our-radar-schwarzenegger-slams-climate-law-repeal/

The WashPost gets it wrong again: The replacement of old technologies by new ones drives growth

In yesterday’s Washington Post, Peter Whoriskey argues – predictably for the Post these days – that making lightbulbs more efficient puts Americans out of work. The last US-based GE factory to make old-school incandescent lightbulbs is going out of business, and here is Whoriskey’s explanation:


During the recession, political and business leaders have held out the promise that American advances, particularly in green technology, might stem the decades-long decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs. But as the lighting industry shows, even when the government pushes companies toward environmental innovations and Americans come up with them, the manufacture of the next generation technology can still end up overseas.

But the real story is, as usual, more complicated. First of all, the U.S. is not the only country to move beyond wasteful incandescent lightbulbs, which burn out ten times faster than fluorescent bulbs. The European Union, Australia, Canada, Russia, Brazil, and Argentina are among the other countries that have passed regulations to phase out these old-school bulbs. So it isn’t a question of the U.S. driving these manufacturers overseas; instead, we are talking about a global shift to newer, more efficient technology...read on

The Struggling Economic Recovery

Gloomy economic indicators continue to raise questions about the sturdiness of the global economic recovery. Weak global demand for American exports, a near 10 percent U.S. unemployment rate, and sluggish bank lending (Bloomberg) have led to doubts about the Obama administration's efforts to stimulate the economy with a new jobs bill (WSJ). Questions also loom about the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates low indefinitely and how long markets will tolerate high U.S. debt...read on

Is the East really starting to "outshine" the West???

Ocean's Color Affects Hurricane Paths

A change in the color of ocean waters could have a drastic effect on the prevalence of hurricanes, new research indicates. In a simulation of such a change in one region of the North Pacific, the study finds that hurricane formation decreases by 70 percent. That would be a big drop for a region that accounts for more than half the world's reported hurricane-force winds...read on

What do you think???

Wheat Supplies and Food Fears

As the Russian landscape burns and Eurasia's agricultural zone sizzles in a record heat wave, the agricultural commodities markets are threatening to spawn a food crisis akin to the one in 2008...read on

Is this really a cause for concern? Or is it just another "fear factor" thrown out there by the government?

China vs. India: The Hare vs. the Tortoise

When you compare Asia’s two rising BRIC giants, China and India, China comes out on top by almost every measure. After all, China has grown at close to 9% over the past 30 years and has just surpassed Japan as the world’s second-largest economy. Meanwhile, India threw off the shackles of its Hindu rates of growth comparatively recently in the 1990s, and has yet to break into the ranks of the world’s top 10 economies. The Chinese are also just plain richer. China’s per capita income is about six times that of India — $1,016 compared to $6,100 in China... http://seekingalpha.com/article/218793-china-vs-india-the-hare-vs-the-tortoise?source=feed

Interesting Blog and I believe you can prosper financially in both areas.

China v US energy consumption

China has overtaken the US as the world's biggest consumer of energy, according to preliminary data from the IEA...

China's energy use has more than doubled over the last decade to overtake the United States as the word's biggest user, according to preliminary data from the International Energy Agency. As the data from the IEA shows, China has gone from using 1,107 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2000, to 2,131 Mtoe in 2008 and is estimated to have consumed 2,265 Mtoe in 2009.
Full Story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/datablog/2010/aug/03/us-china-energy-consumption-data

7 Green Summer Camps Sending Kids (and Future Environmentalists) into the Great Outdoors

This is certainly different from when I went to camp!

We did have "pollution patrol" but this takes it to a whole other level!!!

There's nothing like a week or two at sleep-away camp to get your kids off the couch, away from the Wi-Fi, and detached from their cell phones in favor of hiking, swimming, and exploring the great outdoors. These camps focus on getting kids in touch with Mother Nature -- from working in gardens that provide the camps with food to taking daily walks to look for different plants and animals -- so that they come back more in touch with their environmental side than ever. And though it may be too late to book a trip for this year, it's never too early to start planning for 2011... http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/07/7-green-summer-camps-sending-kids-and-future-environmentalists-into-the-great-outdoors.php?campaign=th_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+treehuggersite+%28Treehugger%29

Would you send your kids to one of these camps???

Cap and trade dead huh...not so fast!

After the senate put a kibosh on the bill last week, a consortium that represents several U.S. states and Canadian provinces stepped up and said that they were going to adopt new climate control policies; specifically cap and trade, that will begin in 2012. Perhaps this was a response to China announcing that they will start to trade carbon credits next year. Maybe when the most populated country in the world and a clearly emerging financial power announces that they will start adapting to climate change policies others have embraced; its time for Americans to take their heads out of the sand. What do you think?


Cap Trade is Dead. Long Live Cap and Trade -

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/cap-and-trade-is-dead-long-live-cap-and-trade/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Floating Pool Concept Could Clean NYC Waters "Like a Giant Strainer

A giant floating pool just off the riverside of Manhattan - for swimming and also filters and cleans the water? Why not? That's what a group of designers and architects are proposing in + Pool, a multi-purpose pool and urban revitalization concept that is in the shape of - you guessed it - a plus sign. They are looking for civic support for what is envisioned as a "giant strainer dropped into the river", which will also serve as a public amenity and ecological prototype. We love the sexy pool images and the clever way water filtration is incorporated into the concept....read on: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/07/floating-pool-concept-clean-nyc-water-giant_strainer.php

I am still unsure if i would swim anywhere near the East or Hudson rivers. How effective can this possibly be?

CFTC approves green exchange

From Marketwatch.com: Green Exchange got its approval from federal futures regulators this week to launch a trading platform that will list contracts tied to credits and allowances for greenhouses gases.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Friday it had approved the exchange’s application Thursday. The announcement of its approval comes just one day after U.S. Senate Democrats decided to table a climate-change bill. That bill would have helped spur a much larger derivatives market to help companies offset their carbon emissions.............full story: www.marketwatch.com/story/cftc-approves-green-exchange-2010-07-24

Does having a green exchange make sense even though the climate-change bill didn't pass???

I think so. Speculation will add liquidity to the market.

Climate Bill: Senate Democrats Abandon Comprehensive Energy Bill

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Thursday gave up plans to attempt to pass an energy bill that caps greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, abandoning a priority of President Barack Obama.

Obama had hoped to add a climate bill to the two biggest legislative successes of his presidency, a comprehensive health care bill and a broad reform of the U.S. banking and financial sector.
Read the full article here - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/22/climate-bill-senate-democ_n_656175.html

This will undoubtedly have a dramatic effect on America's environmental markets. Now is the time for investors to focus their efforts on other regions of the world. Specifically areas that recognize a mandate for climate change based on their laws and policies. At least until the next U.S. election.

The question is: which region globally is best for investors?

Dams stir water arguments

Already the topic of dam construction is stirring strong emotions at the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan. Salto Caxias generates 6% of the nation's electricity
The debate, as ever, is centred on the seemingly polarised conflict between the needs for a clean source of energy and the massive social and environmental damage that dams can cause. But the short history of the Salto Caxias dam in Brazil suggests that this need not always be the case. Although construction work on the dam in the state of Parana was finished three years ago, only now has the entire project come online. It now generates 6% of all electricity used in the country...courtesy BBC

We have to consider and develop alternative clean sources of energy otherwise our environment will be depleted. Don't you agree???

Climate wars

Does a warming world really mean that more conflict is inevitable? Read more...http://www.economist.com/node/16539538?story_id=16539538&fsrc=rss

LEED Building

A new program from the U.S. Green Building Council and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation is offering grants to developers to build affordable housing that is compliant with the council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards for neighborhood development...http://www.emii.com/Articles/2633674/Asset-Management/Asset-Management-Articles/Program-Seeks-Affordable-Housing-LEED-Projects.aspx

This past week's heat wave was so intense that it made me want to stay inside and catch up on some reading. However since I couldn't find any juicy news stories that I thought were the least bit absorbing or interesting; I was faced with the fact that yes, global warming is definitely upon us and I am bored!

Here's the lowdown on why it's happening, what's causing it, and how it might change the planet...http://mim.io/18da4